Kiyomi Kobayashi: Memory

2019

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Kiyomi Kobayashi: Memory is a concept short film and the second film of the Kiyomi Kobayashi series. It tells the story that in 1872, Kiyomi Kobayashi was refrigerated by the shogun. 300 years later in Tokyo, she was resurrected and transformed into an artificial man, which became the secret weapon of the shogun to monitor the assassination mission. In the end, she can’t escape the tragic fate either.

Director & Visual Artist: Axl Le

Music: Paolo Nutini - Keep Rolling

Kiyomi Kobayashi: The Mask

2019

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This is the intro video of part two of the short film series Kiyomi Kobayashi (2018-2019).

​The Mask is mainly about the story of Kyoto geisha Kiyomi Kobayashi in Tokyo, Japan in 2192. Kobayashi was imprisoned and frozen during the shogunate's foreign war in 1872 to prepare for future development as a special weapon. Three hundred years later, their plan secretly began and Kobayashi was resurrected, the flesh was transformed, and all evil things happened one after another.

Director & Visual Artist: Axl Le

Music & SFX: Echoic Audio

Kiyomi Kobayashi: Sword and Fire

2018

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This is part one of the Kiyomi Kobayashi short film series. The video portrays an imagined 1872's Kyoto. The geisha Kobayashi and Hideyoshi fell in love with each other, and he became her lover. However, due to the war, they were separated from each other forever. I hope this story will bring people's attention to the cruelty of war, as well as the status of women during those times.

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Director & Visual Artist: Axl Le

Music: Pond5